1. The Mirror

"Will you look at my hair..."

Ashley muttered to herself, as she paced along the platform, waiting for her 10 o'clock train to arrive. She was peering into her powder compact mirror, examining her perfect make-up, completely symmetrical face, and faultless hair with a look of contempt and disdain on her beautiful face. She was one of those people who were stunning, and yet could find anything wrong with their appearance, and expect the world and his wife to agree wholeheartedly. Suddenly, she bumped into some-one and went sprawling into the ABC gum, (Already Been Chewed) and dust that littered the platform. She looked up and saw a wizened old man standing there, in a tweed suit, that smelt rather mouldy, hunched over a twisted, beat-up old walking cane. Ashley leapt to her feet and glared at the man, arms crossed.

"Aren't you going to say sorry?" She inquired, with far more heat than was really necessary. The old man just stared at her, seeming not to hear her.

"Hello?!" she yelled, assuming the old man was deaf. Many people turned to stare, and a young couple frowned, and started to make their way over to them.

"You ought to be careful dear." Did the old guy just say something?

"What?"

"I said, you ought to be careful. A lot of accidents happen when people aren't looking where they are going.." He trailed off, seemingly randomly, and gazed off in another direction.

"Is there a problem, miss?" Asked the young man, his arm curled around his partner.

"No problem at all," Ashley spat, and stalked of, casting one more withering glare at the old man over her shoulder. She took no heed of the mans advice, and walked on, staring into the small smudged mirror. At the sound of the trains approach, Ashley shuffled closer to the edge of the platform, still absorbed in her reflection. Someone jostled her from behind, and her foot slipped forward. It plummeted a foot downwards carrying her leg, and subsequently her body with it. In her surprise, Ashley let go of the compact. The impact with her ribs of the electrified rails knocked the wind our of her, as well as zapping her into a state of paralysis. The last thing she saw as the train rushed at speed towards her face, was the old mans face, who she now realised was her neighbour, dead of 10 years, killed in a freak train accident, smiling down at her, saying "I told you so". Then...

Blackness.

I finished reading the article, in which a 28 year old woman had died tragically in a fall from the train platform onto the rails below. My mother had been the one to react, when she fell, trying to alert a member of staff. She already knew it was too late, but, she tried anyway. When the staff arrived, all that was left of the girl was several limbs, and smaller chunks of flesh. From what it says in the article, 45% of the girl was caught in the train wheels. Gruesome. The one thing my mother brought home was a powder compact someone must have dropped in the panic of the accident. I'm going to the party tomorrow, and I'll need to catch the bus into Central London. Perhaps I'll save my makeup from getting ruined, and do it as I get off the bus...